I plan on trying a 2-gun match the end of this month. I know the pistol part of the IDPA pretty good, been doing that for a couple of years now. But this is the first 2 gun match for me. No one at the counter knew anything about the match, and the ROs werent available at the time. I have a RRA with a 20" Preditor Persuit upper and a Nikon Bushmaster scope. I know it will be a little heavy, maybe I can find a carbine upper before the match. If not, I'll get it zeroed in at 25yrds before the match and I'll run with what I've got.

I'm wondering for the AR what additional gear (i.e. mag carrier), number of mags, mag capacity, and number of rounds will be needed? I believe slings are not allowed for this match.

A lot depends on the match. There is no reason you can't use a 20" ar and do well, even in a lot of 3 gun matches. I like to have my guns sighted in at 100 yards, (Maximum distance at most of the local matches.) Then you need to know how your point of impact is from point blank out to 100 yards. You can use good old fashion kentucky elevation for the rest. A magnified optic will be slower than most reflex sights, and even slower than iron sights in the close combat stuff. It will of course be a benefit if there are a lot of long range shots.

If you are going to go with a magnified optic, consider a 1.2-4x scope. It has the most versatility of the magnified optics out there, but they are a little slower than reflex sights for the close in stuff and require a good consistent cheek weld.

My suggestion is shoot what you have and then if you like these matches, then go ahead and start to spec out an upper specifically for the task.

As for magazines, I use mostly 30 rounders. I like to have a 20 rounder in case there is a tight prone window in the course of fire. You can spend as much or as little as you want on a spare mag carrier/chest rig. A single mag pouch would probably do for most of the stages. Occasionally, we shoot more than 60 rounds a stage, but that is maybe 1 per match.

Went to the match last night, my first 2-gun, and had a frickin blast!!! (sorry, pun intended) The only thing I really need is another couple of mags, so I can pre-load them and keep from having to be constantly reloading - and maybe an AR mag pouch.

My AR performed very well, but I could definately use a carbine upper and a lower power optic. I also learned a few things I need to practice more before the next match. Since the match was at an indoor range, the distance was about 25 yrds, but range simulated with much smaller targets. My scope helped me here. But on the closer targets, I found it was easier to co-witness with my left eye for the target and the right eye for the crosshair. Slow, but proved to be pretty accurate.

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